Q & A with one of the speakers

Christina Martini, a partner at DLA Piper, will be one of the speakers at Wednesday’s Attorneys in Transition. She took some time to answer a few of our questions.

What is the number one piece of advice for those lawyers going through a career transition?

I would recommend that folks in this position have faith that things work out for the best, and sometimes life presents you with situations that you may not have expected, envisioned, or necessarily wanted at the time they arose. If you have faith that things happen for a reason, and that sometimes your life is meant to change direction at certain times and in certain ways that can be unpredictable, it will make the whole experience much easier. Success and failure are often driven by your attitude, and being open and receptive to change and optimistic about your future can make a huge difference in the ultimate outcome of a career transition experience.

What do you hope people get out of next Wednesday’s event?

I hope that people learn some valuable information as to how to go about exploring different options during this time, and that they leave the session much more hopeful about their situations. I think all of us at different times during our lives go through huge transitions in our careers and lives, and it is normal to feel very uncomfortable and scared. Hopefully, folks will feel like they are not alone and that they do have support from those around them during this time, and that this period can actually be a really great opportunity for them!

What are the challenges lawyers face in this economy?

The challenge is that there are too many people for too few jobs, and that it is a 24/7 responsibility to think of ways to distinguish yourself from others and to make yourself indispensable to your employer. What is really challenging is that decisions to terminate an employer/employee relationship are incredibly difficult and are generally driven by circumstances beyond one’s control (such as a huge drop-off in the organization’s revenue). Thus, there is an intense feeling of a loss of control, which is incredibly difficult to deal with (especially for lawyers) and can have some very significant life consequences.